We have a new family pet… a parrot. This parrot isn’t the kind that flies or even one that needs to be kept in a cage. We do still have to feed it and clean it, but that is not the part we concern ourselves with. The best AND worst part about our new parrot? You guessed it… repeats EVERYTHING!
Reed’s vocabulary has really blossomed over the last month. When once he was too shy or timid to try talking, he is now attempting everything that we say to him… or around him. Julie got burned in classic style this morning when we were talking across the bedroom while I was getting ready for work. I mentioned something that caught her by surprise, and she responded with the traditionally girly response of “Shut… UP!” Reed didn’t miss a beat and chimed right in, repeatedly… “shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up”. We both busted out while Reed kept repeating since we gave him such a great reaction. 🙂
Among some of our favorites in his vocab, are the ones that he uses every day as part of his routine.
He as a [cereal] “bar” and “manana” for breakfast almost every morning. Up until recently, after we sit him down in his chair to eat, we feed the dog by letting him “ou-side” in the “brrrr-cold”.
Getting dressed in the mornings can be knock-down drag-out fight, or it can be a vocabulary lesson, you can never tell what the mood will be. Sometimes as a form of persuasion/distraction, we will talk about getting dressed to go “ou-side” and get in “Daddy’s truck” (which he LOVES to play in the Driver’s seat). Pointing out “Reed’s shoes” and “Daddy’s shoes” is where he first started assigning ownership. Now he will go through everyone’s attire and make sure that everyone has their assigned garments.
For the longest time, Reed used the word, “Ba”, for any large vehicle. I couldn’t get him to say “truck” for the life of me. On the other hand, “car” is one of the first words that he has enunciated very well from the beginning… all other words seem to fall off at the end, like “baa” for ‘bath’.
Roll call at the dinner table is another form of assigning ownership, but sometimes Reed will call out people that are not there, like “BB”, “Duke” and “Ya-Ya”. Diana Beth (DB), David and Laurie have all had their time at our dinner table, and according to Reed, each have their assigned seats.
The list could goes on forever and changes every day. Like I said, he is constantly trying new words and syllables. But, it is very hard to explain in writing how Reed’s expressions and inflection can turn a normal word or phrase on it’s head. I can’t do it justice here for you, and it’s hard to catch those moments on video. So, we do our best to enjoy our little parrot while he is here with us.
-RB
